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Monday, 2:30 – 4:00 PM ET
Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26, Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, Dec. 7
Course Goals: Throughout the year and particularly in times of crisis and during the month of Elul, Ashkenazi Jews and especially Jewish women used to go to the cemetery to pray, not only for, but also to their ancestors, asking the dead to pray for them in heaven. In this class, we will primarily focus on the Yiddish prayers of the Mayne Loshn prayer book — a collection of tfiles (liturgical prayers) and tkhines (supplications) to be recited in the cemetery. Originally based on a 17th-century collection of prayers written by Rabbi Yaakov ben Avraham Shlomo Sinna of Prague, the Mayne Loshn was one of two popular cemetery prayer books in the modern period that was mainly used by Jewish women, who were often led in their prayers by professional “cemetery women” — zogerins and klogerins, who were paid to work in the cemetery.
Taught by Annie Gottfried Cohen, an experienced Yiddish teacher and a researcher of these women's practices, in this course we will study both the language of the prayers and the history of these practices, drawing on Annie's work for a new book on Kvores Vayber (Cemetery Women) and for her website www.pullingatthreads.com.
Additional Information: Students do not need to be able to conduct conversation in Yiddish, but they do need to be able to read Yiddish text and understand it with the help of a teacher. Advanced Yiddish speakers are also very welcome. Discussions will take place in Yiddish and in English depending on the abilities of the class, and while our focus will be on the Yiddish prayers, we may also try to decipher some of the Hebrew prayers of the Mayne Loshn. English translations of all of the material will be available for those who need them.
Monday, 2:30 – 4:00 PM ET
Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26, Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, Dec. 7
Course Goals: Throughout the year and particularly in times of crisis and during the month of Elul, Ashkenazi Jews and especially Jewish women used to go to the cemetery to pray, not only for, but also to their ancestors, asking the dead to pray for them in heaven. In this class, we will primarily focus on the Yiddish prayers of the Mayne Loshn prayer book — a collection of tfiles (liturgical prayers) and tkhines (supplications) to be recited in the cemetery. Originally based on a 17th-century collection of prayers written by Rabbi Yaakov ben Avraham Shlomo Sinna of Prague, the Mayne Loshn was one of two popular cemetery prayer books in the modern period that was mainly used by Jewish women, who were often led in their prayers by professional “cemetery women” — zogerins and klogerins, who were paid to work in the cemetery.
Taught by Annie Gottfried Cohen, an experienced Yiddish teacher and a researcher of these women's practices, in this course we will study both the language of the prayers and the history of these practices, drawing on Annie's work for a new book on Kvores Vayber (Cemetery Women) and for her website www.pullingatthreads.com.
Additional Information: Students do not need to be able to conduct conversation in Yiddish, but they do need to be able to read Yiddish text and understand it with the help of a teacher. Advanced Yiddish speakers are also very welcome. Discussions will take place in Yiddish and in English depending on the abilities of the class, and while our focus will be on the Yiddish prayers, we may also try to decipher some of the Hebrew prayers of the Mayne Loshn. English translations of all of the material will be available for those who need them.